India

Tamil Nadu, India (exploration)

Location | Tamil Nadu, IndiaService Opportunities | Work with Amizade’s newest partnership, Visions Global Empowerment, at a youth leadership camp.Cultural and Recreational Highlights | Witness and participate in local events, sports, music and life. Meet local leaders and participate in the life of the community. Students and faculty also visit historic and cultural sites in order to better understand the cultural identity of the union territory of Puducherry, India.

Program Overview

Participants will have the opportunity to better understand the cultural identity of the south Indian region of Tamil Nadu through by exploring its rich history and current culture. Participants will arrive in Chennai (formally Madras), the capital city of the state of Tamil Nadu, and will then visit the Union Territories of Puducherry, (formerly Pondicherry) a colony that was under French rule for over 300 years. Participants will study Puducherry’s past and examine how that has influenced and shaped its present-day culture through the various elements that comprise culture, namely, history, art, literature, folktales, architecture, music, religion, cuisine, dress, traditions and more.

Participants will also travel to a variety of sites and locations such as landmarks, monuments, public places (e.g., markets, stores), schools, museums, government buildings, and more, to gain a thorough appreciation of local culture and study regional customs and participate in local activities.

As part of this program participants will be exposed to the local life of the small villages of Thiruvannamalai and Thirukoilur and volunteer as a counselor at a leadership camp.

Our Community Partners

Visions | Visions is a global nonprofit organization serving youth and communities through education. In Tamil Nadu, India, Visions works to enable students, teachers, schools, and non-governmental organizations to become self-sufficient and capable of participating as leaders in today’s society. They organize and run youth leadership trainings with the purpose of helping youth establish Visions Leadership Councils in their schools and communities.

What comes to mind when you hear someone mention the word “India”? Do you think of unfamiliar settings? Strong religious influence? Spicy food? These were all things I conjured up in my personal pre-departure expectations of the country. I imagined a colorful landscape with crowded streets.

Amizade is proud to announce that, for the first time in 8 years, we are expanding to two new countries: India and Trinidad and Tobago! In Trinidad, Amizade will be partnering with the small fishing community of Matelot, working to tackle a range of environmental issues including preservation of the coastline, maintaining local hiking trails and working on conservation efforts for the leather back turtle population. In India, Amizade will be working on leadership development in the southern Tamil Nadu region.

Healthy and Safety

As you or your loved one prepares to serve with Amizade in India, you can rest comfortably with the knowledge that Amizade has an exceptionally strong safety record and ability to respond to any emerging challenges. For the most up-to-date health, safety, and security briefings, please review the following: